Senate passes bill requiring U.S. amateur athletic organizations to report sexual abuse

The U.S. Senate today passed legislation led by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and others to require amateur athletics governing bodies to report sexual abuse allegations immediately to local or federal law enforcement, or a child-welfare agency designated by the U.S. Justice Department.
The legislation, known as the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act, would ensure that aspiring U.S. Olympic athletes can report allegations of abuse to an independent entity to investigate, and to make sure that all national governing bodies follow the strictest standards to prevent and detect child abuse. The bill was filed earlier this year in the wake of recent allegations of sexual abuse against personnel involved with USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming and USA Taekwondo.
“It’s a stain on our country that many of our own young Olympic athletes were sexually abused for years by the very adults they entrusted to train them and keep them safe,” said Nelson. “No individual deserves to have their dream or moment of Olympic gold stolen from them by the actions of a sexual predator. These heinous crimes and the culture that allowed them to go undetected and uninvestigated for so long must end.”
Specifically, the bill amends the Ted Stevens Amateur and Olympic Sports Act, which governs amateur athletics governing bodies – including USA Gymnastics and USA Swimming, which establish rules and policies for their respective sports. It also reforms the law that allows victims to sue sex-crime perpetrators by extending the statute of limitations because it’s often difficult for children to recognize that they have had crimes committed against them until much later on into adulthood.
The legislation is supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), National Children’s Alliance, Rights4Girls, University of Utah Law Professor Paul Cassell, Child Sex Crime Victims’ Lawyer James Marsh, Crime Victims Expert Steve Twist, National Crime Victims Center, National Association of VOCA Administrators, Child USA, National Organization for Victim Assistance, ToPrevail, ChampionWomen, National Children Advocacy Center, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence and Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
The bill now heads to the House for final approval.